2,384 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Purchased by Voleon Capital Management LP

Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,384 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $173,000. Invst LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 19.4% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,012,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 250.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,260 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,604,000 after buying an additional 22,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Destination Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 4,895 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $121.32 on Friday. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $98.58 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The company has a market cap of $94.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $118.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.57.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. As a group, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is 73.20%.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.

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